Here you will find my photos of the restoration of my 1977
Apache Ramada. The main project took place between November 2000 and
February 2001. Of course, I continue to do small projects on the old girl
as needed, and will continue to update the site with any new work I do.

PLEASE READ: I want to specifically address the
method I used for repairing my road cover. Ordinarily, I would not
recommend using fiberglass/epoxy and Bondo-glass for patches, as they
deteriorate in the sun over time (you can see some photos of old fiberglass
patches, and how they have yellowed and disintegrated). However, I felt I
had no other option as the road cover had gaping holes that I could not repair
using the ABS goo repair method. If your cracks/holes are anything
other than huge, please use the ABS goo method found on Doug's Apache
Popups Website.

In chronological order:
(Click on any thumbnail for the full-size picture)

11-30-2000 - Old
Ceiling Material
You can see the horrific water damage, plus a gaping hole courtesy of a
tree branch that fell all the way through the roof.

11-30-2000 - Old Ceiling Material
Another shot of the damage.

11-30-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
Here is the removed Road Cover, on its side in the Garage. This is
most definitely a two-man job, getting it off the trailer.

11-30-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
In the past, we had patched holes from a hailstorm with fiberglass and
epoxy. You can see that they disintegrated in the sunlight in less
than five years.

11-30-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
Another shot of the holes we had to fix.

12-03-2000 - Top
Side of Road Cover
Here you can see the myriad patches on the road cover. The gray is
from some 'plastic roof paint' I tried to paint over the leaking epoxy
patches.

12-03-2000 - Top
Side of Road Cover
Close-up of some of the old patches

12-03-2000 - Top
Side of Road Cover
Close-up of some of the old patches

12-17-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
Using a wire-wheel on my drill and a sander, I removed the old gunk from
the top and bottom. Then, applied fiberglass & epoxy on the
underside of the holes.

12-17-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
Another shot of the completed underside.

12-17-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
A few drips in the epoxy, but overall a watertight seal! I used
two coats of epoxy.

12-17-2000 - Bottom
of Road Cover
We're talking some large holes!

12-17-2000 - New
Ceiling Material
Here is the new ceiling material. It is standard white tileboard
purchased at Home Depot. The new light fixture I got at a local RV
shop for around $15.

12-17-2000 - Exposed
TopEver wonder what the top looks like with no road cover or
ceiling? You can also see that my Apache logo on the side needs
some work.

12-17-2000 - Ceiling
Being InstalledHere is the new tileboard in place on top of the trailer.

12-17-2000 - Ceiling
Being InstalledAnother shot. You can see I backed the light fixture with some
plywood.